Equipping scientists with state-of-the-art technology for analysis of small molecules in heart and circulatory diseases

Funds to purchase a Sciex 6600 Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer to be based at the Cardiff Lipidomics Facility at Cardiff University

It is essential for scientists studying heart and circulatory diseases to be able to quickly and comprehensively analyse all the different types of fats (known as lipids) in a sample of blood or tissue. The most effective technology for doing this is called mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry can detect individual molecules even if they are at very low levels in the blood or tissue. It allows researchers to quickly see differences between samples from different people, types of disease and stages of disease. Researchers at Cardiff University have a strong track record of research into lipids involved in heart and circulatory diseases. For example, a lipid they studied using mass spectrometry is now being tested in a clinical trial for pulmonary arterial hypertension – a condition caused by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. To enable the group to continue their ground-breaking work, the BHF has contributed to funding a new state-of-the-art mass spectrometer that has a greater sensitivity for analysing biological samples and will allow for the analysis of a large range of molecules at one given time. This will provide researchers with a faster, more accurate way to explore molecules in clinical samples. The more samples they can analyse, the faster and more accurately they can pinpoint the molecules that play a meaningful role in heart and circulatory diseases.